Sacked Aslef leader to launch appeal

The
sacked leader of train drivers’ union Aslef said today he will fight to clear
his name.

Shaun
Brady, who was dismissed on Saturday from his £66,000 job after being found
guilty of refusing to co-operate with an inquiry into Aslef and its finances,
is to launch an appeal against the decision. He will also take his case to an
employment tribunal.

“I
was elected by more than 4,500 members, but was sacked by a seven-strong
committee," he is quoted as saying in the Evening Standard newspaper.
"I am deeply upset about what has happened and will continue the fight to
clear my name.”

Supporters
of Brady, a Blairite who won control of the union last year, said the sacking
last week by Aslef’s left-dominated controlling executive committee was
politically motivated.

Meanwhile,
his deputy, Mick Blackburn, also faces the sack today on unrelated charges,
when he appears before the same disciplinary hearing.

He
faces one charge of downloading pornography on to an office computer, and
another of forging a reference for a relative to obtain temporary work at the
union.